The invention concerns an apparatus for the contactless cleaning of a conveying element which is designed to receive rod-shaped articles in the tobacco-processing industry, including at least one ionizing element for removing electrostatic charges on the surfaces of the conveying element which are to be cleaned, at least one rotating compressed-air nozzle for loosening and removing contaminants located on surfaces of the conveying element, and a suction device for extracting the contaminated outgoing air. Furthermore, the invention concerns an arrangement for transporting and/or storing rod-shaped articles in the tobacco-processing industry, including an endlessly rotating conveying element which has a full strand provided with articles and an empty strand without articles, a guide element which is arranged below the conveying element for guiding and/or supporting it, and an apparatus for cleaning the conveying element, whereby the apparatus for cleaning is arranged in the region of the empty strand.
Apparatuses and assemblies of this kind are used for many purposes in the tobacco-processing industry. In the manufacture of cigarettes or the like, tobacco sticks, filter rods, cigarettes or the like are transported, stored, transferred or otherwise conveyed. This purpose is served by conveying elements which can be designed as chains, belts or otherwise. Typical storage assemblies of the ORBIS and VARIOS type are described in detail in the applicant's European documents EP 0 581 143 B1 and EP 1 445 218 A1, respectively.
The conveying elements are at least partially supported and/or guided by a guide element which is arranged below the conveying element. During transport, storage or the transfer of rod-shaped articles, the conveying element is soiled by abrasion of the conveying element itself, residues of the articles located on the conveying element, dust from the environment and in particular also charcoal granules. Particularly the removal of the charcoal granules upon changing brands, but also maintenance of the mobility of the conveying element, necessitates cleaning of the conveying element. It is therefore known that apparatuses for cleaning the conveying elements can be provided. Contactless cleaning apparatuses, for example, electrostatic cleaning apparatuses, with the characteristics mentioned hereinbefore have proved to be particularly effective here. These are arranged in the region of an empty strand of the conveying element.
The known apparatuses for cleaning the conveying element have, however, the drawback that they are of open design. This means that in particular rotating compressed-air nozzles and the suction device have a direct effect on the environment. In other words, the compressed-air nozzles blow into the environment the dirt particles loosened from the conveying element. This can firstly lead, for example, to articles which are located on the full strand being blown down off the latter secondly, the articles in the vicinity but also the conveying element itself are again subjected to the contaminated air. The cleaning operation is, to put it another way, uncontrolled, as e.g. dirt particles can also drop onto elements located below the empty strand, e.g. the full strand or other components of these or other apparatuses.